BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2001
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2001 (Ammiano) - As Amended: April 22, 2014
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:5 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill creates an opt-in pilot program to provide
comprehensive services to homeless youth. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Authorizes counties that participate in the federal Title IV-E
Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Project to establish a
pilot program, with the approval of the Department of Social
Services (DSS), to develop and implement alternative child
welfare services to meet the individual needs of homeless
youth.
2)Requires each pilot program to conclude no later than July 1,
2019.
3)Specifies that a homeless youth is eligible to participate in
the pilot program if he or she is at least 14 years old and
has been homeless for at least 21 consecutive days, and the
county child welfare agency determines that long-term
intensive support services are needed and the youth would best
be served by these intensive services through the pilot
program.
4)Authorizes each participating county to use Title IV-E funds
and state foster care funds.
5)Requires a county child welfare agency, upon placement of a
homeless youth into a shelter, to provide case management
services, identify appropriate long-term housing placement
opportunities and wraparound services for the youth, and
recommend whether the youth should continue in the pilot
AB 2001
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program or petition to become a dependent child of the court.
6)Requires DSS, in consultation with the California Welfare
Directors Association and youth advocates to develop by March
31, 2015, standards and criteria for the pilot program
regarding the use of Title IV-E funding, requirements for
casework, placements and youth assessments.
7)Requires DSS to evaluate the pilot program and report its
findings to the Legislature by January 1, 2019 along with a
recommendation as to whether the program should continue.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs potentially in the range of $200,000 to DSS to
establish standards and criteria for the pilot program and to
evaluate the pilot program and report to the Legislature.
2)On-going minor costs to DSS to screen county participation in
the pilot program.
3)Counties are authorized to use their federal Title IV-E funds
to cover their costs of participating.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author there is a population of
young people who because of their chronic homelessness have
developed survival skills that do not lead to successful
integration into the existing child welfare services system
focused on family permanency. The two available paths for
chronically homeless youth, the child welfare system and the
juvenile justice system, do not serve this population
sufficiently. For this subsection of homeless youth, a group
home placement that provides a specialized set of skills has
been the proven model for success. This bill will allow
children who are in foster care due to their being homeless to
be placed into facilities that are best suited to serve them,
ideally a licensed group home, with expertise in addressing
the circumstances and attributes associated with a child being
chronically homeless.
2)Homeless youth . The Homeless Youth Project (HYP), established
by the California Research Bureau in 2006 in collaboration
with the Council on Youth Relations, based upon national
AB 2001
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survey estimates and California's youth population, estimates
that there are 200,000 youth under the age of 18 and
potentially thousands of persons aged 18 to 24 who are
homeless. For purposes of this population, "homeless youth"
typically describes minors under the age of 18, and 18 to
24-year-olds who are economically and/or emotionally detached
from their families and have an unstable and inadequate living
environment, or are periodically homeless. In a 2010 survey of
local, state and federal programs, the HYP identified 53
programs that offered about 1,000 beds for homeless youth
throughout the state.
3)Title IV-E . Under California's Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver
Demonstration Capped Allocation Project (CAP), counties that
opt into the waiver may use their federal Title IV-E funds for
alternative and creative projects that help children and
families avoid a child's entry into dependency. According to
DSS, "by granting flexibility in the use of unrestricted Title
IV-E funding under the demonstration project, the state would
support counties to better target services that address the
unique cultural and individual needs of the children, youth,
and families they serve."
Currently, there are two counties participating in the CAP;
Alameda and Los Angeles. However, there are 23 counties that
have expressed interest in participating in the CAP, which is
projected to be extended beginning July 1, 2014 until June 30,
2019.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081